Mexico agents find 269 migrants in trailer near southern border

Mexican authorities have found 269 migrants from Central and South America crowded into a tractor trailer near the country's southern border, Mexico's National Institute of Migration said on Tuesday.

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Federal agents spotted the white trailer at an immigration verification point in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, in the southern state of Chiapas, the institute said in a statement. The driver was arrested by police after attempting to flee.

Migrants sit on a vehicle of the Mexican Institute of Migration after being detected at a checkpoint. Reuters

Many migrants pass through Tuxtla on their journey to escape poverty and violence elsewhere in Latin America. The city has been the site of deadly accidents, including the death of more than 50 mostly Central American migrants a year ago when a trailer overturned while rounding a sharp curve.

Nearly all of the 269 migrants discovered by the authorities were from Guatemala, although there were also three from El Salvador, three from Ecuador and two from Honduras, according to the statement. It added that 20 of the travelers were unaccompanied minors.

The migrants were taken to the immigration institute's offices to determine their status.

Reuters